Various types of security seals for sealing bags or the like have been proposed and, for example, the most common security seal consists essentially of a lead seal member having a plurality of through-holes therein through which a drawstring or the like is serially passed, with the lead seal member being subsequently crimped by a crimping tool so as to secure the drawstrings around an opening of the bag and thereby prevent access thereto.
One disadvantage of the conventional lead type security seal resides in the fact that, if the seal is not properly crimped, it is possible to loosen the drawstring sufficiently to gain access to the bag without moving the drawstring, tamper with the contents of the bag, and redraw the drawstring without providing an evidence of tampering.
Another disadvantage of the lead seal resides in the fact that the seal is not reusable and, to gain authorized entry, the lead seal member is generally severed and discarded.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,342,477 proposes a security seal with a break-off screwhead securement wherein a block shaped retainer is provided with through-holes so as to permit a passage of a drawstring, with a manual anchoring of the tie member and the retainer being accomplished by engagement of a working end of a screw head against the drawstring, with the head of the screw then being broken off and discarded.
Recently, more attention has been given to environmental issues. There is a considerable concern relating to the use of lead and to the subsequent disposal thereof. Thus, attempts have been made to provide a seal arrangement which ensures security but which is fashioned from a material which is less detrimental to the environment than lead.
For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,223,424, 4,306,745, 4,333,210, 4,365,833, 4,610,053, 4,676,535 and 4,895,402, various types of security seals are proposed which are fashioned of a plastic material.
A common disadvantage shared by the above-noted proposed seals resides in the fact that they are all multi-partite and, consequently, not only relatively expensive to manufacture and assemble, but also somewhat difficult to manipulate when being applied to the bag to be sealed, in addition to not necessarily precluding a tampering of the contents of the sealed bag.
Other arrangements are proposed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 331,439, 990,629, 2,899,230, 2,314,814 and 2,496,905.
Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,087,089 proposes a bag security seal wherein a seal member includes a plurality of partition walls disposed in parallel to one another and in parallel to end wall sections so as to define a plurality of channels extending across a width of the seal member. A plurality of aligned holes are provided in the each of the partition walls and end wall sections, with the holes extending through the partition walls and the end wall sections in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal center axis of the respective channels. The holes in the partition walls and the end wall sections are disposed in alignment so as to enable a drawstring to be threaded therethrough in such a manner that a looped portion is formed on one side of the seal member and is adapted to be placed around the container, with free ends of the drawstring being disposed on an opposite side of the seal member. Upon a crimping of the seal member, the partition walls and end wall sections are deformed so that openings form individual anchoring points on the drawstring so as to prevent a withdraw of the drawstring from the seal member and to prevent unauthorized access to the container.
The security seal of U.S. Pat. No. 5,087,089 is formed of a soft material such an aluminum or aluminum alloy and, while the seal of this patent provides a significantly improved tamperproof seal arrangement as compared with the prior art, it has been determined that there is a possibility that the seal may be altered by virtue of the fashioning of the seal of a soft material.